Jacques-Emile Blanche painted portraits of many artists and writers, including this portrait, Charles Shannon and Charles Ricketts. Lifelong friends and partners Ricketts and Shannon shared a collection of art and antiquities. Blanche wrote: ‘Their flat was filled with exquisite things; Persian miniatures, Tangara figures, Egyptian antiques, jewels, and medals, which millionaires had overlooked.’ Oscar Wilde was a frequent visitor to their house, remarking that it was ‘the one house in London where you will never be bored.’ (Blanche, 1937)